Domestic and commercial buildings are commonly provided with a heating apparatus to satisfy the heating needs of the building, for example for space heating of rooms in the building and/or for providing a hot water supply. Such an apparatus is typically designed solely for the purpose of converting the stored energy content of a fuel, such as natural gas or a petroleum derivative, into thermal energy. In recent years there has been a focus on increasing the efficiency of this energy conversion process.
In parallel with the focus on improving the efficiency of heating apparatuses, the provision of computer systems in domestic and commercial buildings has become widespread. Furthermore, the processing power of such computer systems has rapidly increased, with computer systems finding application in all aspects of the use of buildings. This trend has, in part, been facilitated by the development of high speed connections to the Internet.